Why: “This is a great exercise if you want to target the mid and lower back,” says Kemp. “Just remember to think about the line of the pull – avoid pulling too high towards your chest as this will shift tension off your upper back.” Building strength in your middle back is excellent for achieving good posture and protecting your spine, to bulletproof your body against injury during day-to-day heavy lifting.

Front Banded Rack Pull

How: Position the bar on the rack below knee height. Wrap two thick bands around the rack and attach to either end of the barbell. Grip the bar and set up like a conventional deadlift – feet shoulder-width, hinged forward at the hips with a flat back, holding onto the bar with straight arms. Begin the drive with your feet by pushing hard into the floor. Pull the bar and bring your hips through as the bar travels up. Stand tall with a proud chest while pulling your lats back. Focus on a max squeeze at the top of the rep.

Why: You can pump up your upper back, too, you know. “If you are training for muscle hypertrophy [growth] and trying to create maximal tension in your target muscles, then using the bands is an effective addition to any rep,” says Kemp. “Adding bands ensures there’s tension at the top portion of the lift.” This stops you slacking half-way through the rep and taking a breather. The harder your muscles are forced to work, the more quickly they’ll grow.

Wide-Grip Lat Pull-Down

How: Grip the handle outside of shoulder width. Once again, set your shoulder joint with the shoulder blades compressed back and down. Sit up tall and begin the rep by forcing your elbows down towards your hips. Concentrating on leading with the outside of your hands will engage more of your back muscles. Pause at the bottom, focussing on contracting your lats hard while maintaining tension in your abs throughout to prevent you from arching your back. Return to the start of the exercise, focusing on stretching the lats before resetting your shoulder for rep two.